Fateful Meetings
by mochi2isluv
Summary: The story of what happened on the Celestial Plain and the circumstances behind Amaterasu and Waka's relationship. More of a friendship fic than anything, with a smattering of romance thrown in for good measure.
1. The Snake

**A/N: I am procrastinating on all my other stories by starting this new one, but I felt like it needed to be done. I probably won't update this one anytime soon either, because I'm a horrible author like that. X| I APOLOGIZE FOR MY LAZINESS, EVERYONE T_T If I get enough reviews, I might be motivated to update, however... ...ENJOY**

**Chapter 1: The Snake**

Lavender. It always smelled like lavender.

"Waka."

Oppressive. Lavender was such an oppressive smell.

He smiled. It was called for. "Yes, _Majeste_."

Why was such a large room so heavy? The warmth of the air hung over his head like a woolen cloak in the summertime, draping over his shoulders and dragging him down, no matter how hard he tried to stand straight. He swore the reason he was so short was because he spent so much time in this room.

"I have a request for you, Waka," she said. A request. As if it was a choice. _Don't be so hard on her_, he chastised himself. _Choices are privileged these days, even for the royal._

She straightened herself in her throne. It was a beautiful piece—intricately designed—carved out of the moon's most precious metal and seared along the patterned rivulets with a sparkling blue light. What a lucky woman, to be the fifth Moon Princess to reign in that chair. He watched her fingering the hem of her sleeve. Surely she couldn't be comfortable in all those clothes, especially not in this wretched, _wretched_ warmth.

"I need you to go to the Celestial Plain."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. What an odd request for the Princess of the Moon Tribe to ask of her servant.

"Waka," she said, sighing. "You are my most trusted advisor, and the only one who has remained impartial in this whole affair about the demon gods. You are the only one I can ask for such a mission."

Ah, the only one. It was not a choice.

"Surely Genkai is a much better candidate than I—"

"Genkai is an extremist," she said, cutting him off. "He is brilliant, yes, but so are you. Don't say a word, Ushiwaka, you are brilliant in your own way, and Genkai is brilliant in his. He also is very strong in his opinions, and you are…how shall I say it—?"

"Indifferent?"

"Unbiased," she corrected. He saw no difference whether she used the euphemism or not. "What I need now is not controversy, which will undoubtedly happen if I send in Genkai, but peaceful observation. I want you to serve as an ambassador of sorts. I want you to observe the Celestials on the heavenly plain and tell me how they live with their gods. Be friendly with them. I want you to observe their reactions to you, and make sure you leave a good impression."

"_Princesse_, surely you are not thinking of moving us onto the Celestial Plain, are you?"

She did not sigh. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes—a pained expression on her flawless face. "I will do whatever must be done to escape this mess. The demon gods have been raging for some time now. It is not long before they break through their chains and wreck havoc on the Moon. But even by then, we may have already destroyed ourselves with this war." She was gazing to the side, as if she could see through the walls and into the city of her people. He had no doubt she could. "This mission is of upmost importance to me, Waka. I will decide my stance when I hear of your findings. Go now," she said, waving him away. "And be discrete."

Waka gave a swift bow. "Yes, _Majeste_."

He fled the room as quickly as possible, the scent of lavender billowing in the air behind him as he left. The Princess shouldn't keep herself cooped up in that room all day. Oppression like that could get to one's head. He was surprised she hadn't gone insane yet.

Waka stepped out of the palace and into the gardens of the aristocratic quarters. It was a beautiful place, to be sure. Stalks of bamboo shooting up like trees—smaller, more delicate bamboo stalks twisted, twined, and curled into appealing sculptures. The pale ground glowing softly underneath his bright red geta. The sky ever its sea of dark blue.

The Celestial Plain. His breath caught in his throat as he thought those words. As far as he knew, none of the Moon Tribe dared step foot on that sanctified ground. Many long years ago—so long that no one living today could even remember—his tribe had been banished to the moon, cursed to live forever alongside the great and terrible demon gods that resided there.

A slight smile crossed his lips. He would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued.

"Curse you, _Majeste_," he said cheerfully, looking up at the sky. "And I was prepared to hate whatever ridiculous assignment you had meant for me."

Something white flashed behind his eyes, and he was no longer staring at the sky. As quick as it had come, it disappeared, and he stood in the same position as he had been when it started, not in the least disoriented. He grew accustomed to handling these visions. One must when such gifts were frowned upon.

Even so, he was unsettled by what he saw. Surely fate couldn't be telling him to take that…? He shook his head. No. It must have been a mistake. But the vision gave him an idea, and with the particulars already blurring in his mind he twiddled with his flute, feeling the reassuring weight of it in his hand.

"Well," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Let's get started, shall we?"

[xx]

It had been a long time since Waka had come to the junkyard. He didn't need to. He was not an engineer.

There was no wind on the moon, which made the barren wasteland of dust and scrap metal all the more eerie. He had come here once as a child. All moon children did. This place, with its vast stretch of emptiness filled only by the husks of decaying genius, rotten dreams, and lost hopes, was endlessly enshrouded in shadow. It was the one piece of moon that never showed its face to earth, was never touched by the light of the sun. And it was here, chained deep in the heart of empty ships and under rubble, where the demon gods lived.

Waka was aware of a steady, poisonous hissing that hung over the wasteland as if it were part of the air itself. He smiled.

"Out of luck again today, big boy," he murmured. "No one here will free you."

The hissing remained, lower and more poisonous than before, as Waka picked his way through the junkyard in search of something, anything, to ride to the Celestial Realm—anything but _that_.

[xx]

_Chains. Clinking, clattering, gnashing chains. A young Waka heard them and did not tremble with fear. His mother was not afraid, and neither should he be. _

_"Ushiwaka," she said, letting go of his hand as they came to the corridor. "Look and feel." She left him with the warden, who ushered him into the room with the chains, growing louder and louder as they approached whatever was inside. The inside of the ark glowed with a soft red-orange, the color of the lunar eclipse. The color of unpredictable power. Heavy, black chains hung taut from every side of the room, shaking and clanging as Waka's eyes fell upon a giant snake spitting and twisting with rage. Eight gruesome coils of neck lashed out in fury, every head adorned with a different crown. A giant, golden bell hung over the main body of the beast, glinting maliciously in the red light. A head lashed out just above them, and the armored warden recoiled defensively. The young Waka merely watched with a strange indifference in his eyes. The snake did not acknowledge their presence—it was far too absorbed in its agony and anger to notice anything else._

Feel?_ Waka wondered as he stared up at the giant beast. _What should I feel? _There was no terror, no awe, no pity, no hatred. He felt nothing except cold unfeeling, which couldn't be considered a feeling at all. He gazed, unflinching, at the massive snake as it raged and writhed in its black iron chains. Indifference. Pity, maybe? Pity that a beast so strong and mighty should become so lost in its fury that it can think of nothing else. Nothing._

_The demon god's warden steered him back out of the room. The beast's roars lingered in his ears. He did not tell his mother what he felt. She did not ask. She took him by the hand and they walked away from the chains and the imprisoning ship, but he never forgot about the demon god. That visit was a warning, a reminder, of the power that never truly slept on the moon. Moon children went to bed remembering that this was their curse, and in their dreams Orochi whispered in their ear that he was always there, waiting. Even the best chains wrought by a moon craftsman can't hope to hold against time and fate._

[xx]

The hissing grew to a buzz, but Waka didn't hear it anymore. Why fate had chosen this particular ship, he did not know. It was not his place to question the ways of the universe.

As he approached the hull, the ship seemed to awaken. Blue lines began to glow softly, pulsing a little in the darkness. This was the ship where Orochi had been imprisoned when he came as a child. The Ark of Yamato. The Moon Tribe revered and feared this ark. It was the ship that carried their ancestors to this cursed land, and the ship where they imprisoned the raging demon gods.

Waka gazed solemnly at the sacred ark. He thought he had seen himself piloting it, but why would he bring a thing that held old demon gods to the Celestial Plain on a peace mission? Besides, it was no longer functional, and the Princess would surely have a heart attack if he flew something so bulky, dangerous, and conspicuous. He had to have mistaken it for something else.

He turned his back on the ark, and the ship slowly shuddered back into slumber. Moving on, he inspected an unassuming pod that seemed to be in relatively good condition. The dashboard took a while to flicker to life, and the engine was rather loud, but it would do. With a delicate flick of the wrist he tapped the necessary controls and the little pod whirred above the pile of metal and rubbish. The screen flashed light blue, asking him where was his destination. With fingers slender and pale as the crescent moon, he typed in _Celestial Plain_. The computer took a moment to process, and for a minute Waka wondered if these pods even knew where the Celestial Plain was. But then the machine's gears kicked in, and with an unbelievable burst of energy the pod surged forward into the sky.

From the depths of the quiet, lifeless ark, the snake stirred in its chains.


	2. The Sun Goddess

**A/N: Ah, Chapter 2 is up! I'm feeling particularly accomplished today. Just to warn you, Amaterasu does not speak outright in this story. I imagine her as being able to communicate through body language, which Waka and the Brush Gods can understand because they are not quite mortal beings. I hope you can understand what she "says" based on Waka and others' reactions and replies to her, but if it's too confusing, let me know. Also, I have the Brush Gods speak in italics to show that their voices are heard telepathically. Quotes mean the speaker is speaking out loud, which is how Waka and the Celestials speak.**

**Phew, that's about it, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Sun Goddess**

_Well,_ thought Waka, as he tried to flick the hair out of his eyes. _I suppose this goes to show that things in the junkyard are there for a reason._

The pod had been doing well for some time, but despite all signs of proficiency, it was still a piece of junk. The circuits had decided to stop working, and he was steadily losing air. Waka tapped the flickering buttons as fast as he could, swearing as he became aware of the Celestial Plain zooming closer and closer to the unstable pod. _DANGER!_ _DANGER! _The control panel flashed at him.

"Why thank you, I am aware of that," he said irritably, frantically trying to slow the pod down before they both became part of the Celestial Plain's topography. The pod managed to slow a little, but it was already too late; their falling velocity was too high, and with a final tug of the steering wheel, Waka pulled them upright before crashing into the ground. Panting, he stepped out of the steaming pod and assessed the damage. The little pod had traveled quite far from the initial crater it made when it landed, leaving a long, ugly gash of brown dirt over the golden-white topsoil. He winced. Not the best way to create a good impression, was it?

He glanced around. Luckily no one had been around to watch. He was about to jump away from the scene of the crime when he turned and found himself face to face with a fearsome snake.

The only snake Waka had ever seen was Orochi, but this one looked strikingly similar—the only differences being that it had one head instead of eight and its body glowed with a porcelain sheen instead of a consuming black. Its face was broad and sprouted with whiskers, tapering down to a thin snout at the end. In each of its four hands it held glowing orbs, one yellow, one red, one purple, one green. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about this snake was its tail, which was partially embedded in a giant scroll. The snake's intelligent eyes flashed as it observed him, and for the first time Waka understood what it would have felt like to see Orochi out of its chains. It would have been terrifying.

"_Bonjour_," he said pleasantly.

The snake said nothing. It narrowed its eyes and swooped past him, focusing its attention on the gash. It studied the mar for a few moments, weighing the orbs in each of its hands. Then, with a precise sweep of an arm, it brushed the yellow orb over the soil, immediately returning the ground to how it had been before and leaving behind nothing but a faint golden sparkle in the air where it happened. Finally, the snake turned back to him.

_Get that away,_ it ordered, extending a curved nail at the ruined pod. With one final, disdainful glare, the snake coiled and leapt into the sky, gliding to the west. Waka felt like it had meant to say something more before it left. He shrugged and examined the pod, wondering what he could do with it anyway. He knew it was poor manners to leave his trash around, and he had already gotten on one god's bad side before he even started. But somehow he got the feeling that he would have made a poor impression no matter how he made his entrance. He was of the Moon Tribe, after all. He had no place here.

"I would gladly dispose of this for you, _Monsieur_ Snake, if only you'd tell me where I can do so!" he called into the distance, even though the snake was no longer in sight. He turned to the pod. "You won't go anywhere and stir up trouble, would you?" He waited politely for it to answer. "What, are you implying _moi_ is one to cause trouble? What a tongue you have, for a piece of junk! Now stay put like a good boy. There," he said, patting it affectionately. "I'll come back after I know what to do with you."

He turned around, about to head west to follow the flying snake, and found a striking white wolf with crimson markings sitting lightly on the grass, staring intently at him with intelligent black eyes. On the wolf's back was a divine instrument—a red disk that looked exactly like the sun, engulfed in crimson and azure flame that flowed down the wolf's back and did not make a single mar on its pure white pelt. The wolf cocked its head, its steady eyes running up and down his body until they finally came to a rest on his face. The amusement in its eyes told him that it had witnessed his conversation with the inanimate pod, and he cursed both the wolf and his own stupidity. _Well now, don't I look like a fool._

He smiled in an attempt to recover his dignity. "My dear lady Amaterasu, if you don't know what I am, all you need to do is ask."

The wolf snorted.

"Forgive me, of course you are aware that I am of the Moon Tribe. However, perhaps you were unaware that we are so advanced, we can communicate with our own inventions, hm?"

The sun goddess snorted again, although this time it sounded much more like a "Ha!"

_Amaterasu!_ Waka glanced around, searching for the owner of the voice that had just called out. The wolf goddess was staring at a spot in the grass, and when he followed her gaze he saw a tiny, white mouse god. _Amaterasu! What are you doing here! Yomigami warned us that a Moon Tribesman had arrived on our sacred plains!_ The mouse paused in its tirade to glare at Waka. _You shouldn't be talking to him!_

There was something rather irritating about being looked down upon by a creature less than one-hundredth his size, but Waka calmly shook the feeling away. He was here on a peace mission, after all. Patience was vital.

"I apologize, _Monsieur_ Mouse, but I assure you I am not here to harm the sun goddess or the Celestials. I was sent here by Princess Kaguya, fifth princess to reign on the moon, in order to make peace with the Celestials and their gods, including you and the great sun goddess Amaterasu, of course."

The mouse god sniffed, still appearing suspicious.

_He's too flowery, Amaterasu,_ he said. _I don't trust him._

Waka sighed. Did they prefer him to be blunt and rude, then? He was a court boy—they practically _ate_ flowers there.

Amaterasu stared at Waka again, considering him carefully. She was obviously his ticket to gaining the trust of the other gods, and if she agreed with the mouse that he was suspicious and untrustworthy, then it would be _au revoir_ to Celestial Plains for him.

He waited for a few tense, nerve-wracking minutes, but then something passed in Amaterasu's eyes, and he knew she had accepted him.

_A-Are you sure about this, Amaterasu?_ the mouse asked. When he saw the resolution in her black eyes, he sighed and addressed Waka. _Amaterasu has accepted you,_ he said. _Therefore I will as well. My name is Tachigami, and I am the god of the brush technique, power slash. Come with me. I'll show you the Celestial Plain and its people._

Tachigami scurried through the grass, to the west. Waka turned to Amaterasu, who was still sitting where she had been when he first saw her, staring at him intently.

"_Merci_, Amaterasu," he said sincerely, bowing. "Thank you."

She nodded, then pointed her nose after Tachigami. _Follow him_, was what she was telling him.

"You aren't coming, my dear Amaterasu?"

Her eyes glinted and she wagged her tail slightly. He smiled.

"Then I shall see you again soon. Ah, _Monsieur_ Mouse! Please wait for me!" he called, chasing after the tiny brush god. The sun goddess watched them leave, remaining still and silent as a statue, the tiniest glimmer of amusement in her deep, black eyes.


	3. The Dragon

**Chapter 3: The Dragon**

The Celestial Plain was very beautiful, and much smaller than he had imagined. It took them almost no time at all to reach the center of the Plain, where the Celestials lived alongside their gods.

Several Celestials stopped their work to gape and stare at him as they passed. Waka tried to suppress the urge to stare back and ignored them for the most part, following swiftly after Tachigami with his head high as if he were a frequent guest. The Celestials. He had seen pictures of them in the Moon Tribe books and paintings before, but in reality they were much more elegant. From a glimpse or two, he noticed their hair was short and wavy, unlike the long, straight hair of the Moon Tribe. They were small and slender, with delicate wings sprouting from behind their heads, and they wore simple, white garb. Perhaps the only thing they had in common was the color of their hair, but even that was a strained comparison—the Celestial's hair was the pale blonde of sunlight, while Waka's was the deep, hard color of gold. A precious metal, commonly enough mined on the moon. He was sure there were no such metals to be found here, but the air was sweet with the smell of flowers and grass and things that _lived_, and it was very warm. He never realized how cold the palace on the moon had been before arriving here.

Tachigami led him past the largest tree he had ever seen, blooming magnificently over the Plains, and on toward the mountains in the west. As they approached their destination, Waka saw a giant cave yawning at the entrance.

_This is where us Brush Gods live,_ Tachigami explained. _Let me show you around._

Waka expected the cave to be dark, but as soon as he walked inside he didn't seem to be standing in a cave. A long, wide path stretched out not too far into the mountain, leading into a round courtyard in the center. Small trees wound around each other, forming the entryways of little rooms carved out of the stone all along the path. Waka peered inside one as they passed, surprised at how much sunlight streamed into the room from the window carved out of the face of the mountain.

Around the courtyard were a couple of other doorways, which Tachigmai explained led to the kitchens.

_Yumigami should be inside,_ he said, gesturing with his head that Waka should enter first.

A rabbit was pounding mochi with its back turned, gripping a red mallet with its ears and jumping slightly as the mallet swung forcefully down on the sticky substance. _Whack! _Quickly, before the mallet swung back around, the rabbit used one powdered ear to flip the mochi over. _Shwip. Whack! Shwip. Whack!_

Waka was mesmerized. Tachigami gave a small cough.

_Yumigami._

_Whack! _The rabbit let the mallet remain in the mortar, and began tetchily, _Tachigami, how many times have I warned you not to interrupt me while I'm making mochi?_ She turned around, scowling, and then her eyes widened when she saw Waka there.

_Moon Tribesman,_ she greeted cautiously, nodding her head slightly. She glared down at Tachigami. _This could have waited, you know._

_No, it couldn't,_ Tachigami replied. _I had to introduce him to you first. Of all the brush gods, you are the closest to the moon. Amaterasu has given consent for him to remain here, and I need your help convincing the others._

"_Bonjour, Madam_ Rabbit," said Waka, feeling the time was right to introduce himself. "I am Waka, ambassador of the moon."

_I am Yumigami,_ the rabbit said, putting down her mallet and shaking the powder off her ears. _Goddess of the brush technique, Crescent._

There was a loud thump from behind them, as a sheep with a gourd strapped to its back staggered into the kitchens.

_Yumiiiiiii~_ the sheep slurred. _My gourd is empty, fill it with more sake pleeeeaaase~_

The sheep hiccupped loudly.

_Kasugami, this is no time to be drunk!_ Yumigami scolded. _Waka of the Moon Tribe is here as our guest, show a little decency, would you?_

_Oh my!_ Kasugami blinked and swayed on her feet. She grinned at him and leaned forward. _Moon Tribesman, have you ever had some of my sake?_

"I can't say I've had the pleasure, _Madam_ Sheep," he said. Tachigami snorted.

_Flower-boy,_ he muttered.

"It is a thing we call _survival_ in the Moon courts, my dear Tachigami."

Kasugami giggled. _So polite, for a Moon Tribesman._

_Yumigami, let's introduce him to the others, _Tachigami said, ignoring the drunken sheep. _Yomigami and Gekigami will be the hardest to convince, considering how stubborn they are._

_Ooh, I'm coming too!_ Kasugami giggled, staggering after them.

They didn't have to go far. The giant snake Waka had met before floated in the courtyard outside the kitchens, along with what Waka assumed were the rest of the brush gods. In addition to the floating snake, there were a cat, a tiger, a horse, a phoenix, a boar, three monkeys, a bull, and another snake—a small one—curled tightly into a water jar. Tachigami squeaked with surprise.

_Y-Yomigami!_

_Tachigami,_ the snake rumbled. _Why have you brought the cursed Moon Tribesman here?_

_It was Amaterasu's will, Yomigami,_ Yumigami cut in.

"I apologize for the intrusion, _Monsieur_ Snake," Waka said. "Tachigami was kind enough to offer to introduce me to all of you, but it seems you have made it to us first."

Yomigami's eyes narrowed, and he said icily, _I am a dragon, Moon Tribesman, and I will thank you not to forget it._

_Yikes, he's being difficult,_ Waka winced, and said to the dragon, "I apologize for the misunderstanding. You see, there are no dragons on the moon that I could compare to." _Just one very big snake._

_What's your purpose here, Moon Tribesman?_ called the phoenix from the back, smoking on a pipe.

"I come on a mission of peace," he said. "I was sent by Princess Kaguya, the fifth reigning princess on the moon. I know it has been a long time since the gods and Celestials of the Plain have lived with the members of the Moon Tribe, but I assure you I am here simply for research purposes and have no intention of harming the Celestials or getting in the way of your business."

He made no mention of the fact that the demon gods of the moon were stirring, or that their people were currently engaged in civil war. The gods accepted his explanation reluctantly, still a little suspicious of his motives. But he had Amaterasu on his side, and they knew better than to challenge her decisions.

One by one, the brush gods vacated the area, all except Yomigami.

_I don't trust you, Moon Tribesman,_ he said.

"I am aware of that," Waka replied cheerfully.

_Huh,_ Yomigami scowled. _I am the oldest of the brush gods, besides Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all. She may have forgiven your people, Moon Tribesman, but remember this—I have a long memory, and there is nothing I forget._

The snake—dragon, Waka reminded himself—gracefully turned tail and left, his scroll swishing down the hall.


End file.
